Kelly’s label RCA, are long overdue to follow suit. Others in the industry with more serious money to lose, like R. It is important to show that there are real consequences for this behavior that Real Estate weren’t honest upfront about Mondanile’s exit, instead saying he was leaving to focus on solo projects, is like doing half the work.
I commend the indie labels and bands that have started dropping artists and members transparently upon learning of these situations, like Polyvinyl with PWR BTTM and Beach Slang with Ruben Gallego. It is lazy and shameful to only deal with this problem when women take on the burden of speaking out, and the illusion of independent music as a progressive field is dented for all to see.
Because we can only truly depend on companies to take action when their bottom line is affected. Hesitantly, I say that independent music seems to be among them, but only if we keep listening-and if we show, as a community of consumers, that abusers will not be tolerated. What’s changing is the public reception to sexual harassment and assault, at least in some circles. Journalists have been reporting out the most odious of these claims for years, like Jim DeRogatis’ 15+ years following the vile allegations against R. If a fan has one of these interactions with a musician, who can they turn to with any shred of hope that they will be believed? If your answer is the police, you need to understand that about two-thirds of sexual assaults are never even reported due to the shame and trauma, not to mention the disheartening results: only six out of every 1,000 rapists eventually face jail time, according to RAINN.įor the truth to start trickling out, it takes something more boundary-less like social media, which has played a role in-if not breaking these kinds of stories open-then tipping off journalists to fan allegations (as was the case with a Mondanile accuser). Women are told, in ways both overt and more quietly demoralizing, that nothing can be done about this problem. In the words of our president, “When you’re a star, they let you do it.” As one music publicist I know recently told me, even her (female) boss said that ass grabs from a high-profile client were unfortunately part of the game. These are also the people who make money off the musician, so holding them accountable has not historically been a huge priority, particularly the more profitable the artist is. There is no HR department for this kind of issue, so it is up to those running record labels, music management companies, booking agencies, and the like to actually deal with the problem. The fan/musician vein of harassment is ostensibly professional-the musician was at work, though the fan was not-but it’s hard to conceive of a standard flow of accountability. Kelly’s sickening physical, sexual, and mental abuse, underscored her brave recent chronicle with her bona fides as a longtime Kellz fan, illuminating how smart women find themselves in the most extreme of these situations. The bigger the star, the bigger that effect: Kitti Jones, who spent years enduring R. Fame, even just indie rock prominence, can embolden musicians and intimidate fans, throwing the latter off their guard. Similarly, a woman allegedly assaulted by PWR BTTM’s Ben Hopkins following one of their shows described feeling powerless because of Hopkins’ social status.
Minutes after meeting and seemingly out of nowhere, Mondanile shoved her in a broom closet and stuck his tongue down her throat. One Mondanile accuser, then a 19-year-old fan, remembered “marveling at the opportunity to actually talk to a member of a band she loved” following a 2013 Real Estate show. Instead of protesting the allegations like Mondanile and Gaslamp Killer initially did, Calder posted a long, mournful apology addressing his past misunderstanding of consent. By late afternoon, Brooklyn label Captured Tracks made its own announcement: Alex Calder, formerly of Mac DeMarco’s early band Makeout Videotape, had been dropped as a solo artist after they’d learn of sexual assault allegations against him. A few hours later, on the heels of victims coming forward, the indie rock band Real Estate released a statement explaining that they’d parted ways with guitarist Matt Mondanile last year over his “unacceptable treatment of women,” a long-due admittance of an open industry secret. producer known as the Gaslamp Killer was accused on social media of drugging and raping two women four years ago, a detailed story that quickly led to event producers Low End Theory severing ties with him. On Friday, October 13, three stories broke regarding sexual assault allegations in the independent music world.
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